


You make it real

by deathlypassion96



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Christmas Fluff, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Hogwarts Seventh Year, M/M, Post-Battle of Hogwarts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-25
Updated: 2017-06-25
Packaged: 2018-11-19 00:11:52
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,845
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11301717
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/deathlypassion96/pseuds/deathlypassion96
Summary: In an alternative ending in which Draco Malfoy throws his wand to Harry Potter in the battle of Hogwarts, the two men begin to recover from the war and a friendship develops into slightly more.





	You make it real

**Author's Note:**

> Written as part of a fanfic challenge in a Harry potter Facebook group with restrictions. Might possibly be more to come. Any and all feedback is so greatly appreciated.

The lake appeared as if by magic as we surfaced through the trees. It was teardrop-silver in colour and it was shaped like a perfectly flat disc of metal. No sound rang out from the shimmering emptiness of space around it. Monastery quiet, it was lined with pine trees and the whiff of mint wafted up to us. We decided to make our way to its decanter clear shore. The idyllic scene took our breath away as though neither of us had truly noticed the beauty of the black lake before. Unruffled by wind or rain, it was vault still and restful. The only sounds were the bumbling of bees and the heavy echo of a raven crawking. The heaven-leaking light added a golden tint to the face of the lake and it was paradise. A startling eureka moment came unbidden, which involved the beauty of the natural world. I kept it to myself. I can still see the rain-pearled grass in my mind’s eye. I remember the saccharine sweet smell of that grass. Most of all, I remember how it felt to be young on that horrific day: A horrific day in which youth was lost and that signified the end of everything - May 2nd 1998.  
  
As I pondered how such beauty could be found in the midst of pure tragedy, he muttered something under his breath but by looking at his ashen, distraught face, I knew that he wasn’t  ready to speak and so we sat. My own heartache reflected in his eyes and yet, they were two totally different aches. What hurt most for him in that moment I wondered? The loss of his own free will? The knowledge that his family had a part to play in my own devastation? But so did I. Was my own part not bigger than his? Was it really anyone's fault other than Voldemort's? Too many questions and nowhere near enough answers.  
  
I had to get away from the castle once it was over. Remus. Tonks. Fred. The hundreds of nameless students and professors. Their lifeless bodies laying amongst the rubble with people crouched in agony over them were too much for me then. I couldn't cope as their devastation was mine but was it righteous for it to by my own when their lives were lost in my battle? I didn't think so then. My heart ached for the orphaned children screaming into the night. My heart ached for the empty arms of the mothers. My heart ached for the professors overseeing the bodies of students they were in charge of protecting. In that moment, my heart ached an overwhelming ache that I felt with every nerve in my body. My heart ached for him. Innocence lost and ripped from childhood. I saved his life and he threw me his wand. We sat in perfect balance and yet, we were miles away from each other gazing into the falling darkness pleading silently that we would make it through the night and our pain wouldn't consume us. On this night, I remember the helplessness of a child and the sorrow of a man home from war. On this night, we were one and none.

Returning to 7th year with him by my side was the only way I could have coped. The whispers followed me through the corridors and the gaping eyes burned into me wherever I went but they followed him too. Deatheater and war hero; the unlikeliest of companionships but together, we began to recover with the school. Piece by piece; Hogwarts was returned to it's former glory. But it was not my Hogwarts. No longer the safe sanctuary, now a memorial in my mind of all those lost in the war. Screams and sobs replaced the laughter and jibes. Hogwarts would always be tainted to me but we had made it this far. My final and last Christmas at Hogwarts.

I sighed softly, I could so easily become lost in the pools of grey staring at me. The room of requirement was beautiful to say the least. Glistening lights danced around the spacious room behind elegant opaque drapes. Soft music hummed in the background as I made my way to him. It was perfect. A table sat in the far corner, decorated simplistically with two chairs, a white cover and 3 candles hovering above. The most perfect thing in the room was him, of course: Dressed in a tailored grey suit which quite frankly made my mouth dry instantly and a maroon tie adjusted with precision completed the outfit. Neither of us spoke yet and I couldn't find any words despite my vast vocabulary. If I was honest, I couldn't believe he had gone to so much effort for me.  
  
I had received a note earlier in the day whilst I was lounging in the library, pretending to study when in actuality, I’d been watching the dribble of first years who'd chosen to remain at Hogwarts over Christmas engage in a snowball fight. Chuckling, I had found a great joy in concluding that this, for most of them, would have been their first magical snowball fight. Lately, I found that most of my joy came from the innocence overlooked in life and ironically, the lost innocence of him - Draco Malfoy. I had specifically been pondering our first year at Hogwarts when the note arrived:  
  
"Harry,  
I'd be delighted if you would skip dinner in the great hall tonight and accompany in the Room of Requirement at 6.30pm. I trust that you do not need directions and don't fuck it up by being late.  
Yours,  
Draco. "  
  
'Yours.' One simple word had extinguished the short burst of laughter I had enjoyed by imagining Draco writing the letter. So anal sometimes but that one word had caught me off guard. How would I finish a letter to him? Would I have used that specific salutation? Did it even matter? Shrugging to no one in particular, I penned a response quickly before Madam Pince had a fit over the enthusiastic owl now zipping between shelves.  
  
"D,  
You’ve intrigued me and I look forward to indulging in your company this evening. See you at 7pm.  
Always,  
H."  
  
Sniggering, I could practically hear him grunt of exasperation upon receiving my owl and with that I sent the tawny owl on it's way with a last disgruntled hoot at the lack of treats it had gained from me.  
  
That was then and this was now. Words still stuck in my throat as I tried to not make a fool of myself. He extended his arm and traced from my bicep with his long fingers, all the way down to my exposed wrists. The light brush against my veins sent electricity flying down my spine. Turning over my palm, he spoke just as softly as he’d touched me,  
  
"Dance with me?" The request was followed by a dazzling grin. A type of smile that they write ballads about. Returning his smile with a sheepish grin, desperately trying to obtain some form of moisture in my mouth again. I had been rendered speechless by him, a boy who'd stood opposing me in the final battle of hogwarts not even a year ago but now he was a man. A man that I very much wanted to be around, even dance with and I was no dancer but every nerve in my body screamed out for his touch.  
  
Tentatively, I placed my left hand on his shoulder and my right somewhere between his ribcage and spine. Draco's fingers reached out to caress under my jaw and followed down my chest and over to my right arm. My chest roared and purred as Draco's finger lazily, but oh so precisely, trailed the length of my arm before interlocking our fingers and raising my arm into a firm but comfortable stance. Butterflies raced dangerously in my stomach when Draco's other hand found my waist and we began to move to the slow music that had escaped Harry's attention in the last ten minutes. Draco was an effortless perfectionist and for the first time in the longest time, nothing else mattered.

Even on the dance floor, I couldn't fault my partner. He moved with ease and allowed me to fall into his rhythm whilst humming gently.  
  
"Thank you," I breathed, "Thank you for what you've done tonight."  
  
"No Harry, thank you. For everything." Draco's voice wasn't as gentle as I had previously heard it but it wasn't his usual drawl either. I relaxed my arm and let it find it's way back to Draco's side. I wanted to stop Draco from speaking because I knew he was about to negatively talk about himself and I didn't want that but I could sense he needed to vent and so I simply rested my head against Draco's chest and murmured an indication that I was listening.  
  
"I was dreading returning to Hogwarts this year."

 

With Draco slowly stroking my spine, I was floating but forced myself to concentrate.  
  
"You made me feel alive again after so many months of emptiness and despair. You give me hope and light and I have grown to need you. I set tonight up as a small token of my gratitude with regards to your friendship this year although you will never fully comprehend it's worth to me. Last year, my fate was set in stone Harry and now.. Now I'm back at Hogwarts, the dark lord is dead and karma is chewing my arse. I guess there's so much more I have to learn, but if you're here with me, I know which way to turn." Draco's voice began to tremble with the emotion in his words. "You always give me somewhere... somewhere I can run, you make it real for me."  
  
I choked back the lump in my throat, raising my head to look at the tears swimming in Draco's eyes. He lowered his head slightly but placing my hand underneath his chin, I encouraged him to look at me, needing him to believe my words.  
  
“Draco, I was dreading returning this year as well. If I'm honest, Ron and Hermione are different with me now. They're recovering too but their relationship is so new. Over the summer, I felt like an outsider but you've given me so much. I would have walked out on the first day back had you not been here to help me through it.”

The most beautiful tears I have ever seen were escaping his eyes as I spoke.

“Draco, do you want to know a secret?” The sides of my mouth twitched slightly, his eyes so eager for something that neither of us saw coming.

  
“I love your smile. I love your passion. I love your empathetic nature. I love your ability to light up any room you enter. Draco Malfoy, I love you.”  
  
The lights and the music faded to nothing as the two men became one, joined by tender yet greedy lips searching for the togetherness they both sought so desperately. 


End file.
